The Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union (AMWU) was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

firemen A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as Dangerous goods, hazardous material incide ...

and ship-board service personnel which existed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

between 1922 and 1927. It was a merger of the

British Seafarers' Union The British Seafarers' Union (BSU) was a trade union which organised sailors and Fireman (steam engine), firemen in the British ports of Southampton and Glasgow between 1911/1912 and 1922. Although of considerable local importance, the organis ...

and the

National Union of Ship's Stewards The National Union of Ship's Stewards, Cooks, Butchers and Bakers was the principal trade union for service personnel serving aboard British merchant ships between 1909 and 1921. It was formed in Liverpool in 1909 by Joe Cotter, a former Cunard ...

, both of which were opposed to the principal trade union in the shipping industry, the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union. At the outset, the AMWU expressed an ambition to replace the NSFU and ultimately to become part of the recently established

Transport and General Workers Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900,000 members (a ...

. But several factors limited the union's effectiveness. It faced resistance from both the NSFU and the Shipping Federation, which collaborated through the

National Maritime Board :''This is about the Maritime Board in the United Kingdom. For the Board in the Philippines, see National Seamen Board.'' The National Maritime Board (NMB) was a bilateral board governing wages and working practices in the British shipping indust ...

to control access to employment in the shipping industry. The AMWU also suffered from severe internal divisions. In 1923 and 1925, the AMWU once again found itself unsuccessfully resisting wage reductions. In the latter instance, its effectiveness was limited by the refusal of its general secretary (

Joe Cotter Joseph Patrick Cotter (10 May 1877 – 8 May 1944) was a British people, British trade union leader. Early life Cotter was born into a Catholic family in Liverpool. He was orphaned at the age of six, and was brought up by relatives until he w ...

) to sign cheques, and the consequent impossibility of accessing union funds. The union also lost ground at this time to the Seamen's Section of the National Minority Movement (formed 1924), which attracted many of those seafarers who were most determined to resist the reductions. The Minority Movement, which was sponsored by the Communist Party and included black activist seafarers in this xenophobic period, was suspicious of the AMWU. Such activists regarded the AMWU as a sectional organisation. In 1926, a former member of the

launched a legal challenge to the union's status, alleging that the ballot which brought about the merger of the two organisations had not been properly conducted. The AMWU lost this challenge and, as a result, was unable to access its funds. Despite the efforts of its National Organiser,

Manny Shinwell Emanuel Shinwell, Baron Shinwell, (18 October 1884 – 8 May 1986) was a British politician who served as a government minister under Ramsay MacDonald and Clement Attlee. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he served as a Member of ...

, the AMWU was wound up in early 1927.

References

* Arthur Marsh & Victoria Ryan, ''The Seamen — a history of the National Union of Seamen'', (Oxford, 1989). * Arthur Marsh & Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions:Vol 3'', (Aldershot, 1987). *

Ken Coates Kenneth Sidney Coates (16 September 1930 – 27 June 2010) was a British politician and writer. He chaired the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation (BRPF) and edited '' The Spokesman'', the BRPF magazine launched in March 1970. He was a Labour P ...

Tony Topham Anthony John Topham (27 October 1929 – 2 March 2004) was a British academic and writer. He was an active trade unionist and campaigner for workers rights. Topham was born in Hull. He was educated at Beverley Grammar School, and earned a degree ...

, ''The Making of the Labour Movement'', (Nottingham, 1994) * Basil Modridge,
Militancy and Inter-Union Rivalries in British Shipping
' (1911–1929)

External links

{{Portal, Organized labour Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Seafarers' trade unions Water transport in the United Kingdom 1922 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1922 Trade unions disestablished in 1927 Trade unions based in London